


at last, the snake bites its tail

by Kirjenonny



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: M/M, i never know what to put in here, inspired by MAMA, pls check the warnings, this isn't beta read at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:35:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29507004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirjenonny/pseuds/Kirjenonny
Summary: The Aurora ship has been sabotaged, since they can't jump into hyperspace, they can't leave orbit. The planet of Ares is about to be destroyed by the armies of Helios. San takes a moment to breathe.
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	at last, the snake bites its tail

**Author's Note:**

> idk what this is, super inspired by the song "World End Sequence" by Dictate, please check it out. i might write other one-shots in this au

Good pilots do their best work under pressure and San is not just a good pilot, Choi San is a great pilot. And yet, as the alarm blares around them, bathing the ship in red, blinking lights, and his crewmates run around in complete panic, he is frozen. There’s yelling all around him, as Hongjoong screams orders with a cracking voice, but he stands still, like a boulder interrupting a stream.

The cockpit calls to him and he itches to rest his fingers on the controls, to slip into muscle memory and let his body, his hands, lead his ship and his teammates into safety. But he already knows the ship won’t move. He knows because as soon as the ship stopped, right before they jumped into hyperspeed, he was the one who got to the engines first, he was the one who yelled at Jongho, their head engineer, to do something even though it was obvious the sabotaged engines were beyond repair. He knows because he knows this ship like no other.

Hongjoong may be the captain and Jongho the engineer, but San is the pilot. He knows how it moves, he knows how to make it purr like a kitten and how to make it take turns so sharp they should be physically impossible. He knows because after Hongjoong took him in and chose him as the pilot, he took to sleeping in the cockpit sometimes instead of his quarters, because of the comfort it brought him. He knows because when he couldn’t sleep he used to head into the engines and look at every single wire, every single cog and make sure everything was in its place.

San knows that the ship is beyond repair because he is a great pilot.

So the point is, Hongjoong can scream himself hoarse and the others can try and scrap together a quick fix for their sabotaged engine and wonder outloud who the hell sabotaged them like this, but San stands still because he knows they are doomed.

It’s strange, San has never been one to stand still, it’s what got him into piloting so many years ago, when the earth had just seemed too small, it’s what drew him to Wooyoung too. People used to complain that he moved too much, that he ran too fast. “Eventually, San, you’re gonna leave everyone behind on your quest to nowhere. Someday you’ll look around and realize you’re alone because you couldn’t just slow down.” But then he had met the crew of the Aurora and every single one of them had run just as fast as him, had seemed just as restless as him.

They won’t let him leave them behind, no matter how fast he goes they always catch up.

But now he finally stands still, outside the windows the stars are beautiful. Huh. He’s spent the last few years of his life amongst the stars and yet he had never stopped to look at them like this.

Smackdab in the center of the window, almost overtaking the view is the planet of Ares. He wonders if the fighting is still going on planetside or if the people of Helios have fled, leaving Ares to its impending destruction. San has never cared for the war, nobody on the Aurora has, they're pirates after all, and for a moment it feels like karma, like divine retribution for never taking a side, for not helping the good guys, whoever those may be. 

He remembers a time, back in flight school, when he still wanted to join the military, he had met the prince of Ares, back when his face was still unscarred and both of his eyes were brown, he’d wanted to establish peace between Helios and Ares. So much for that, last he’d heard the prince and all of his brothers had been publicly executed. And San hadn’t even thought about helping him, not even when he’d remember his boyish smile, in fact he’s pretty sure the Aurora had trafficked some of the weapons the soldiers of Helios had used to subjugate the capital.

He wonders what would have been of his life if he hadn’t joined the Aurora, if he had never arm-wrestled with Jongho, read with Yeosang in the infirmary to get a moment of quietness, if he’d never learned to dance with Yunho and Mingi. If he’d never felt the warmth in his chest after one of Hongjoong’s quiet, proud smiles or tasted Seonghwa’s cooking. If he’d never kissed Wooyoung. 

Eventually, it’s Wooyoung who comes to stand next to him and gaze out the window. 

“It’s beautiful, don’t you think? Ares, I mean.” San had never thought of his home planet as beautiful, but he thinks that someone like Wooyoung who comes from the coldest of planets might find it beautiful.

“Too bad it’s gonna be space dust in a few minutes, just like us.” Wooyoung sighs.

“Yeah, too bad.”

They stay silent, for a few moments, just watching the stars and staring at the red planes of Ares. Slowly, they gravitate closer to each other, until there’s barely a sliver of space between their arms, their thighs. San can feel Wooyoung’s heat. He is barely aware of the alarms in the ship, of the blinking red lights, of the fact that their crewmates have gone quiet. He looks at Wooyoung and takes him in, drinks in the sight of his nose, the dark shadows around his eyes, the lips he’s kissed so many times.

“It 's stupid.”

“What is?” Wooyoung doesn’t turn to look at him but it’s okay because the stars reflect in his eyes.

“I never told you I loved you.” This time Wooyoung does turn around, and his smile is blinding.

“It’s okay, I never told you either, and besides, I think we both knew, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, we did.”

They go quiet again, the stars have never looked this beautiful.

“Wooyoung?”

“Yeah?”

“I know you know, but I still want to tell you.” It’s Wooyoung who breaches the space between them, winding his arms around San and pulling him closer, pressing his face into the crook of his neck.

“Then tell me.” And his breath is impossibly warm against San’s ear, he can’t fathom the thought of never feeling this same warmth against his skin ever again.

“I love you.” His voice cracks but he doesn’t cry and Wooyoung giggles quietly, a little wetly.

“I love you too, kitten.”

And then they’re kissing, hungrily. Wooyoung always kisses like he’s trying to devour him, with painful bites thrown in, but this time San can taste the desperation on his tongue. For a few seconds the world fades to the taste of each other’s tongues, the brush of teeth against lips, Wooyoung’s bruising grip on San’s shoulders and the feel of San’s fingers against Wooyoung’s waist.

When they separate, the rest of the Aurora crew walk up, like they’d been waiting for their moment to end to join them. They don’t say anything, just huddle together, so tightly San doesn’t know who’s who anymore, only that the hand in his is Wooyoung's. He thinks about thanking them, for the life they’ve given him, telling them that he loves them, but Wooyoung was right, they already know so he doesn’t.

When Helios finally pulverizes Ares, San doesn’t close his eyes, after all, the planet had stopped being his home long ago. He feels hands around his neck, someone pressing a kiss against his temple, his fingers crushed in Wooyoung’s grip.

The Aurora doesn’t stand a chance as Ares explodes, but it’s okay. As their little corner of the universe goes blinding white, and the stars disappear, San smiles.


End file.
